WIPPES Act (H.R. 2964) Passes House on Bipartisan Basis
On June 11, the House passed H.R. 2964, WIPPES Act, on a vote of 351-56. Sponsored by Representative Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Representative Mary Peltola (D-AK), the bill mirrors California’s state law by requiring wipes manufacturers to print clear and conspicuous “Do Not Flush” labels on non-flushable wet wipes packaging to help educate consumers to not flush these wipes down the toilets as a means of disposal.

Prior the floor vote, the WIPPES Act received strong and vocal endorsements from both Republican and Democrat Committee on Energy and Commerce leadership during floor debate on the legislation. Both majority and minority committee leadership stressed that the disposal of non-flushable wipes down toilets causes adverse impacts to wastewater utilities’ operations. Leadership cited the increased costs to utilities, and their ratepayers, to address impairments and failures of clean water infrastructure and equipment. Members also noted the environmental harms created by clogging of systems that can result in sewer backups. Video of H.R. 2964’s floor remarks can be viewed here (5:34:00 – 5:40:42).

When it came to the relevancy of H.R. 2964 as a solution to this problem, there was also agreement among Committee on Energy and Commerce leadership. Chairman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) of the Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce stressed that consumers must be notified of when wipes are not flushable and that H.R. 2964 offers a practical solution. Meanwhile, Ranking Member of the full committee Frank Pallone (D-NJ) emphasized the need to have manufacturers print clear labeling that addresses the improper flushing to help protect water infrastructure, clean water, and the environment. Finally, Representative McClain emphasized the broad stakeholder endorsement the legislation has ranging from private industry to the clean water sector.

The legislation now moves to the Senate and has been referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The WIPPES Act continues to be endorsed by a broad and diverse group of stakeholders ranging from wipes manufacturers, clean water associations and utilities, and environmental advocates. CASA will continue to work with this diverse stakeholder group to advance the WIPPES Act in the Senate.

 

New National Strategy to Address Food Waste and Increase Organics Recycling
The Biden Administration has unveiled a new “National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics.” The purpose of this new strategy is to prevent the loss of food waste and increase recycling of organic materials. The goal of these actions is to support a circular economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save households and businesses money. The strategy provides a roadmap for how the Administration wants the identified federal agencies to work to address the strategy’s overall stated goals.

In carrying out the outlined activities, the strategy identifies the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), U.S. Department of Energy, and Food and Drug Administration as the federal agencies responsible for carrying out the activities. While a large focus of the strategy concerns how to reduce food waste, notable actions for the wastewater sector involve efforts to increase rates of food waste and organics recycling. These efforts include:

  • Support the development of additional organics recycling infrastructure through grants
  • Expand market for recycle organics waste products and advance de-centralized organics recycling
  • Support improved decision making on investing in infrastructure and waste management policies, such as composting and anaerobic digestion.

Important to note, the strategy also focuses on addressing contamination in the organics waste stream to better protect the recycling products. Specifically, plastics and PFAS chemicals are called out for research. The strategy also identifies various activities that USEPA and USDA are to research and to provide technical expertise and assistance to states, tribes, and local governments.